No cardio before lifting.

[didactic]

I have been reading a few posts and it seems that many people follow this no cardio before your lifting rule. I have always done 30 minutes Cardio and then gone on to the weights. I have been doing this for years.

How do you all split your cardio and lifting?

 

[atherjen]

what are you goals? lean down? or gain more lean mass??

You correct that cardio and weights in the same session dont mix. if your doing them the same day then keep them seperate, for example cardio in the morning and then weights in the evening.
or do cardio on your days off lifting.

 

[didactic]

Well im now basically trying to maintain what I already have and gain more mass but I was reading your post to another user and you were suggesting that it is not a good idea to have them on the same day?

And separating them would mean that I only do cardio twice a week as opposed to the four times a week I train. I usually do 30 minutes cardio and then an 1hr 30 min of weights.

Have I been doing it wrong for all this time? Plus I train for Monday - Thursday and take Friday - Sunday off.

 

[atherjen]

with you goals in mind, then I would stick to the limited cardio sessions, perhaps make them more intense, like interval style. the rest of the week just lift hard and heavy, keeping intnesity up and eat clean

 

[didactic]

Thanks. has anyone put up a good diet plan I can copy to achieve these goals as best I can?

 

[Intelligent Muscle]

Didactic

Hey bro, remember that is it literally impossible to add mass without adding a little fat as well. I saw your pics, bro. You look great. You definitely have NOT been doing things wrong. Jen is absolutely right. Cardio and weight traing days should be separate. You mentioned that you only do 30 minutes before your workout. I do 15 before every workout. I do this to get my blood flowing throughout my body. This serves a dual purpose--warms up my body and elevates heart rate. This is actually ideal. The 30 minutes you do might not be tapping into your glycogen stores, which is also ideal. If I were you, I would try reducing the cardio before your workouts to 15-20 minutes low intensity just to warm up and get things going. You might wanna try something like this as well. Train on Monday and Tuesday. Take Wednesday OFF. Train Thursday and Friday. Take Saturday and Sunday Off. This will break up the schedule, allowing for more rest and recuperation. Also, this will allow you to use Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday to emphasize cardio. A little bit of modification can go a long way brother.

 

[didactic]

Thanks intelligent its just I think I have reached my plateau and I cant seem to get any bigger.Will take both yours and jens advice. Also I plan on changing my eating habits just need a diet plan to follow which breaks down what I eat in 3 meals to 6 meals.

Any good suggestions?

 

[Lonewolf]

5-10 minutes of light cardio before training is okay, it pumps blood into the muscles and can help you get warm for your workouts.

It's obviously not going to do anything as far as a cardio workout goes, though

 

[hornedfrogs07]

I've gotta agree with lonewolf on that one. A little warmup jog of a mile or so is a good way to loosen up the muscles and get the bloodflow going.

I used to do my cardio immediately after finishing my weight session, just because of time issues. I used to get pretty good results doing it like that. Guess everyone is different in what works for them.

 

[Intelligent Muscle]

Hey bro. Simply stated, if you have peqaked out, then you MUST take in more calories to add more mass. Until I was 24, I could build mass without adding much fat, but since I have found it harder and harder to add quality mass without adding fat as well. Thats exactly why there is an On and OFF season in bodybuilding.

 

[tednatas]

i do 10 mins walking on a incline before every lift session. than if i choose i do cardio. i wouldent want to do cardio before lifting. i think it depletes a certain storage in ur bod that is very well needed before lifting.

 

[hornedfrogs07]

Ted, that'd be glycogen storage. It also depletes the ATP reserves in the muslces, which must be sufficient in order to be able to lift like you should.

 

[cdog]

well Im cutting right now so I do 30 min treadmill in am before I eat then I eat my oatmeal about 30 min post cardio after 30 min I go workout drink my post workout shake,eat a good lunch after an hour,I do this 5x a week,on sat and sun I only do cardio,keep in mind I have some belly to lose! If im bulking ill do same routine except cardio 3x a week(still lift 5x a week)

 

[atherjen]

"The thing is I would drink half of my post work out shake before the cardio and the other half right afterwards along with some vitamin C and E. I have not seen one study proving to me that doing it this way is bad so I am sticking with it."

AND that would work!! with the post workout shake, you have fed your muscles post workout to hault catabolism and rasining cortisol levels.

 

[GameOn]

I do zero cardio! To warm up I do a full set of warm up at lighter weight and pump the muscle I am working up with blood. By that time I am already working up a lather. I keep my workout intense and that keeps my heart pounding. I have found for me I lose far more fat lifting than doing cardio!

 

[Lonewolf]

I used to believe that cardio and weights should be seperated in the day, but now I think that it is just bullshit to be honest with you. I was doing 30 minutes 6 days a week, 5 of them after weight training and I got stronger and leaner in a matter of a few week and lost about a pound of fat. All this was done naturally with shitty test levels also. The thing is I would drink half of my post work out shake before the cardio and the other half right afterwards along with some vitamin C and E. I have not seen one study proving to me that doing it this way is bad so I am sticking with it.

You have to also take into account that you are younger than a few of the people here, though

 

[jcp2]

Doing cardio completely seperately from weights just isn't an option for alot of people on here. I work, unlike alot of students here, and getting to the gym once a day is enough. If i were to do cardio it would be after my workout, heart rate is already up, and you have already burned some cals. I wouldn't want to do it before, i would think that would take alot of energy away from your workouts.

 

[buffdoc]

I agree w/ the above.
Best time to do cardio for leaning and fat loss is in a glycogen depleted state. If the heart rate isn't TOO high, the body begins metabolozing fat as an energy source (since glycogen, and thus glucose is in short supply). And the more you do it, the more effecient the body becomes at it.
When are we maximally glycogen depleted?? In the AM fasting, and right after lifting.
I do 45 minutes of moderate heart rate cardio right after my 60 minute lifting sessions, and as soon as I'm done I drink a protein shake with simple carbs, to elevate insulin levels and replete the skeletal muscle glycogen stores, as well as shunt amino acids into the muscle cells.
Works great at leaning out and have seen no decrease in muscle mass vs no cardio.

 

[tednatas]

I agree w/ the above.
Best time to do cardio for leaning and fat loss is in a glycogen depleted state. If the heart rate isn't TOO high, the body begins metabolozing fat as an energy source (since glycogen, and thus glucose is in short supply). And the more you do it, the more effecient the body becomes at it.
When are we maximally glycogen depleted?? In the AM fasting, and right after lifting.
I do 45 minutes of moderate heart rate cardio right after my 60 minute lifting sessions, and as soon as I'm done I drink a protein shake with simple carbs, to elevate insulin levels and replete the skeletal muscle glycogen stores, as well as shunt amino acids into the muscle cells.
Works great at leaning out and have seen no decrease in muscle mass vs no cardio.

good to hear. i do the same thign whaen i go for hardness